


Those nights

by shieldmaidenofdarkness



Series: The tigers come at night, with their voices soft as thunder [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Reylo Weekly Challenge, Scars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 18:31:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14118357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shieldmaidenofdarkness/pseuds/shieldmaidenofdarkness
Summary: "I'm sorry about this," she whispered.I'm sorry about hurting you. About you being hurt. About the war. About leaving you. About all the pain you had to endure. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.





	Those nights

Somehow the last Jedi and the Supreme Leader of the First Order had fallen into a routine. Neither of them knew, how exactly it had happened, but neither of them really cared.

At first, the Force connected them only when one of them had a paricular bad day, but as time went on, the bond had intensified to a point, where Ben was sleeping in her bed on a daily basis.

Usually he was already or - at least - almost asleep, when Rey finished her work and went to bed, but sometimes Rey came into her chambers and found an empty and cold bed.

In those nights, Rey would pull the blankets up to her chin and curl herself up. She wouldn't sleep well, in those nights, but she usually woke, when Ben would join her, cuddling up behind her and pulling her close. He knew, he always knew, if she'd had a nightmare, and he would whisper soothing words into the shell of her ear, until she fell back asleep.

They would always cuddle up like that, one pressed up behind the other - never facing each other.

At first, they hadn't touched a lot, but it hadn't taken that long for them to give into the desire. To feel the other. To feel their skin.

But this night - this night was different.

When Rey stepped out of the fresher, she didn't find Ben laying in the bed with his back turnt towards her, facing the wall.

When Rey stepped out of the fresher, Ben was sitting on the edge of her bed, clad in only the pair of loose pants he wore to sleep, his bare arms resting on his thighs. His head was facing the ground, his dark locks obscuring the view on his face.

He didn't show any sign of noticing her entrance.

Rey stared at him for a moment that felt like eternity, worrying at her bottom lip. This had never happened before. One of them had always been more or less asleep.

With a deep breath, she took a step forward, then another, until she reached her bed and carefully sat down beside him. She slowly lifted her hand and placed it on his shoulder.

There was a time, where he would have jumped at the sudden contact, but they had become so familiar with each other, that he welcomed her touch.

"Are you alright?" Rey asked, her voice soft and quiet.

Instead of a verbal answer, Ben only shook his head so slightly, that she almost missed it.

With a frown forming on her face, she slowly stroked her hand up and down his back in a soothing motion.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He huffed, and Rey could feel him stiffening slightly.

"I just... I can't do this anymore, Rey." Bens voice was shaking and sounded raw. Had he been crying? And what did he mean with "this"? The connection through the Force? Talking to her? Spending time with her? Being kind to her?

With the uncertainty overwhelming her, she took another deep breath. "What do you mean?" Rey hated howsmall and vulnerable she sounded.

Ben lifted his head and turnt to face her and Rey couldn't help but gasp at his appearance. His eyes were red and puffed, dark circles beneath.

"All of it. The war, the First Order, the Resistance. All of it. I can't keep fighting you ... my mother ... I can't anymore. It's hard enough, as it is. But now ... Hux has started to undermine me. Constantly. I know, he's planning something. It will happen soon. I can feel it." Ben spat the last part out as if it were venom.

"What? You mean a rebellion? Mutiny?"

Ben nodded, his ees grim.

"It's happening soon. I'll have to go soon, it's not safe anymore."

"But you're the Supreme Leader, he ca-"

"Rey. I killed the Supreme Leader. Hux knows that."

"Oh..."

"Yeah."

Ben stared intensely into her eyes, neither of them knowing what to say. They were dancing on a tightrope, barely balancing on it, so close to the abyss.

Rey fought the urge to ask him to join her, to tell him that his mother would welcome him back, that he would find a home with the Resistance, that he could be with her.

Instead she lifted her hand and slowly traced the scar she had given him. A light touch with her fingertips on his forehead, then coming down to the side of his face, where she cupped his cheek. Ben closed his eyes for a moment, slightly leaning into her touch.

"I'm sorry about this," she whispered. _I'm sorry about hurting you. About you being hurt. About the war. About leaving you. About all the pain you had to endure. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry._

Ben only shook his head. "Don't be. It reminds me of you. Of your power."

Rey felt a small smile form on her face. He had accepted her long ago as his equal and if he hadn't been so arrogant, she wouldn't have bested him in the forest.

She let her fingertips run along his scar again, along his throat, where she could feel his racing pulse and slowly, down to his chest.

Her hand came to rest on his muscled chest, and Rey hesitated before she lifted her gaze to meet his.

Bens lips were slightly parted, his breath heavy and his eyes filled with something that looked like ... hunger.

When he moved closer, leaning into her touch, until his face was only mere inches away from hers, Rey felt her eyes widen and held her breath.

The expression in his eyes changed, asking a her a silent question, asking her if he could proceed. Rey felt her heartbeat racing and swollowed hard, her eyes flicking to his lips and back to his eyes. She gave a slight nod, closing her eyes.

And then he body was on fire, his lips crashing into hers, capturing her, caressing her. It was soft and sweet and full of promise, and when they parted to catch a breath, Ben didn't lean back but let his forehead rest against hers, his eyes still closed.

"Run away with me."


End file.
